DREAM ACT APPLICATION COUNT FOR CAL GRANTS TOPS 20,000

More than 20,000 unauthorized immigrants have applied for state grants for college — and at least a quarter of them are expected to qualify for a projected total of $19.5 million in the next school year, according to the California Student Aid Commission.

These in-state applicants are the first group of students to seek aid through the California Dream Act, which gives Cal Grant access to the unauthorized, since the Legislature approved the measure two years ago. Their applications, along with increased financial need among California families overall, have contributed to a record year of submissions to the commission, said spokeswoman Patti Colston.

California joins Texas and New Mexico in offering state assistance for college to unauthorized immigrants, said Ann Morse, program director of the Immigrant Policy Project at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Cal Grant entitlement program provides funding for outbound high school seniors in California, including those who have graduated less than a year ago. Applicants who qualify financially and academically must meet a March 2 filing deadline to be guaranteed an award.

In all, the commission estimates that it will disburse $1.7 billion in Cal Grants for the 2013-14 school year. California Dream students are not eligible for a portion of the program called “competitive awards.”

The average Cal Grant award for the coming year is expected to be roughly $4,000, and the maximum will likely be $12,192. The highest award for those attending a private college will likely be $9,223.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office — in a report titled “How Will the California Dream Act Affect Higher Education Costs?” — estimated that there would be an upfront cost of about $700,000 for administering the program and ongoing operation expenses of about $250,000 annually.

Applications have come from across the state, Colston said. The highest number came from the cities of Los Angeles, San Jose, Santa Ana and San Diego. In San Diego County, unauthorized immigrants submitted approximately 920 applications.

The average family income for Dream applicants to Cal State Universities is $20,234 and the average for citizen and resident students is $17,586. Averages for community college students are a little lower and those for University of California applicants are a bit higher but none exceeds $33,000 a year for an average family size of 3.8.

The California Dream Act, authored by then-Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, includes Cal Grant and institutional aid programs such as the UC Grant, State University Grant and the community college Board of Governors Fee Waiver.

Cedillo had pushed for the law for years, saying that helping students who were brought to the United States as children attend college would eventually reap greater rewards for the economy and the public in general. The students must have gone to a California high school for at least three years, graduate and be accepted to college.

“It is an investment that the state is making on these students and in return, once these students are able to work, they’ll be able to contribute back to society,” said Cedillo, who is running for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council. “Since many of these students will eventually get legal documentation and/or become citizens, they’ll be able to pay more in taxes from high-wage jobs.”